Closer Look at 17” LCD Monitor Features. Part III. Page 13

We tested another bunch of 17-inch LCD monitors. This time we would like to take a closer look at the features, response time, color temperatures and performance of 14 LCD monitors from such well-known makers as Acer, NEC, CTX, Samsung (we tested 8 models!), Sony and Hansol. If you haven’t yet made up your mind about the monitor, then you have to check this article first!

Samsung SyncMaster 173V (SSS)

If it were not for the label, I would think this is a 172V. The case is an exact copy with the control buttons on the bottom, while the same base allows only adjusting the tilt of the screen.

Regrettably, SyncMaster 173V took over another peculiarity of 172V: I couldn’t set it up right either by auto-adjustment or manually. The best I managed to take from the thing is driving the noise to the margins of the screen (and the center was clear and sharp) or to the center (and the margins were sharp in this case). I couldn’t find any serious difference between this monitor and 172V, so let’s get straight to the tests.

The default color temperature of the “User Adjusted” option was 5620K white and 7270K gray. The “Reddish” option gave out 5470K white and 6320K gray. The “Bluish” item warmed the white color up to 5670K and gray to 8260K.

The default brightness is 80%, contrast – 50%. When the brightness control is on 12% and the contrast on 15%, the screen brightness equals 100nit. The backlight lamp is modulated with a frequency of 1kHz (like in 172V model).

The color curves have a good shape, but there is the common problem of many LCD monitors – the blue color is too intensive.

The response time of SyncMaster 173V was higher than that of 172V, but the graphs were very much alike.

The levels of black and white as measured by the calibrator nearly coincided for 173V and 172V: the level of black is the same to a few hundredths, and of white – to a few candelas per square meter.

Yes, SyncMaster 173V gave me a great deal of confusion. I just can’t see the difference between this monitor and SyncMaster 172V: identical exterior, very close results in every test, even the same problems! So, everything I have said about 172V refers to 173V, too. I wouldn’t recommend this monitor if you have a low-cost graphics card or an integrated graphics solution. If you do and want something from Samsung, you’d better consider models from the N or S series, which don’t have evident problems with signal setup. Otherwise, if you are not afraid of this problem, you can consider the V series as one of the most affordable, but anyway decent LCD monitors.